User blog:AbsoluteZero12/Star Warfare: Gems of Time - Chapter 5
< Previous Chapter/Next Chapter > It didn't take long that night for Jace to drift to sleep that night. Images filled his head as if he was being transported through some time-space continuum. Random light swirled around him as things floated by him. A tromping speedling, an RPG he'd always wanted, his parents, to a girl in rabbit ears and revealing lingerie. Everything eventually cleared. He seemed to be standing in what appeared to be a medieval castle-like building. But it appeared to be almost futuristic, with neon pulsing up and down the walls and columns. Instead of concrete walls, it looked like some kind of polished metal. Jace stood in what appeared to be the main throne room. A large chair was in the middle, where a man in a robe sat. He wore a red crown on his head that featured white feathers on the top and gold trim. Kneeling before him was three other figures. The armor they wore was strange. They possessed visors and otherwise similar features of the armor Jace was accustomed to. But it was otherwise outlandish. Jace had never seen it before. "-so I believe ye understand thine objective?" "Yes, my liege." Said the armored man in front. His armor was silver, with green neon. "The very fabric of our universe is threatening to collapse. I beseech thee, my greatest warriors, to this. This enemy is far more powerful than anything else ye have faced. Put an end to it and restore the balance of the world. Ye may take Siegfried with thee. Now go!" "Yes my lord." "As thou wish." "We shall not fail, your grace." They turned and walked out of the room. The armor they wore was the same, with the exception of the neon; one was green, one red, and the other blue. The others inside the castle halls waved and wished them Godspeed. And then the scene began to fade. Jace proceeded to morning chow like everyone else. And as usual he tended to fidget with his eating utensils when he was in thought. No one questioned him, as it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He only looked up and shrugged when Ashe asked him why he was always fascinated with his silverware. That day the mass of the trainees were called into an audience. As they had taken their seats, Master Chief and another man were conversing behind the central podium. When everyone was quiet and settled, the man spoke into the microphone. "Welcome all. My name is Shadus Jasra. I bear no military affiliation or rank. If you call me 'sir' I look over my shoulder." He smiled. "I am the director of this training base. As for why I have decided to speak with you all, many if not all of you possess extraordinary talents you may not realize. Many years ago-" Shadus proceeded into some history lecture. Ray had gotten a nudge from Glenn to keep him from falling asleep. He nearly fell over on Ashe's shoulder the second time he dozed. He never did it again after she threatened to knock his teeth down his throat. Shadus begin to wrap up. "-and so in conclusion, humanity's exposure to mithril has left us with new adaptations. This may seem outlandish and like some fairy-tale to you, but many of you possess the ability to...manifest powers. Almost like magic, if you will." The entire auditorium filled with laughter. Despite the uproar, Shadus continued to smile. He rolled back his sleeves and pointed two fingers above the crowd. A brief jet of blue flame flared about seven feet from his fingertips. The crowd fell silent. Ray blinked. Glenn raised his eyebrows in satisfaction. Ashe picked at her nails as if she didn't notice. Shadus, still holding his smile, blew the ends of his fingers like they were a gun barrel. "Now that you’re all awake, your training finalizes here. You'll be able to sync with your own abilities. First we will have you tested, as no two people have the same abilities." Shadus finished his speech. Despite the petty-officers' protests there were never ending conversations arising from the crowd as everyone left the auditorium. Jace couldn't seem to keep a straight posture. "Did you SEE that?!" Ashe was the first to answer. "Big deal. Not anything I haven't seen before." Everyone else looked at her. She frowned. "What?" She looked between the other three, with a confused look on her face. "You act like you can already do that." Jace acknowledged. "I can't do THAT. But yes I know all about all this. I can cure light wounds. That's about it. Trying to cover anything too large or doing it too often gets very straining and I need to rest.” Ray chuckled. "A healer? That would have been useful for when I got two staples through my thumb the other day." "Two staples?" "We tried to get the first one out with another staple." Glenn answered. Ashe shook her head. She didn't want to know. “Wish I could fix your stupid, Ray.” As Shadus had said, everyone had undergone neurological and physical testing. They received one of four stamps marked with a letter. "A", "M", "E", or "N". Glenn's scorecard came out as an "A"- Arcane. Jace got an "E"- Enhance. Ashe was pretty obvious at that point, "M"- Medical. Ray looked as his with disappointment. "N" - None. It was briefly explained that the letter told you what you were capable of. Arcane meaning the ability to use power for direct offense, Enhance meaning the ability to increase your own physical traits, such as running faster. Medical were healers that ranged from closing gashes to cleansing foreign material or poison in the bloodstream. None pretty much meant you were without any trait. Glenn attempted to cheer Ray up, but Ray shrugged. He didn't seem to care about his loss in ability. Ashe assured him he ‘did’ have such ability. It made Ray feel better, only until she backed it up with "annoying the living hell out of everything." Dinner chow was the same as usual. They met up and would converse about their following day. Ray was silent while the others had talked about what they thought their own potential power might be. Ray at first wasn't bothered about being supposedly "powerless". But he soon learned he was the only "N" on base... Category:Blog posts